Thursday, August 2, 2012

Poureth Over

pouring over it...

This post title is very accurate in describing this week(and a bit of last ) for me for a few reasons...Reason #1: check out my new forms that will either be fired in the salt kiln or the wood kiln...just not sure which yet. They are "pour-overs"...the piece sits on top of your mug or cup, you put a paper filter in and add your coffee, pour over hot water and sha-zam!...you have coffee...these are loved and used by many a coffee hipster...you know who you are. Anyways, these are my first ones I have ever made soooo... I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will perform their intended function and perform it well. If you have made these forms yourself, I would love to hear your input in the form of comments on here...really, anything you have found that needs to be done while making...importance of size or shape...those lines on the interiors...water channels...to trim or not to trim a foot..boxer or briefs...let us know. I did talk to several people who use the plastic "pour-overs" and I felt I was able to gather some insight but I am not so sure and would love to hear others input on the subject.

I threw the pour -overs from some "B-mix for Wood" that I mooched off Nancy Smeltzer over at Little Mahoning Creek Potter. Beggars can't be choosers but I have to say that's some finicky clay...very nice smooooth clay, it just doesn't act like a rough and tumble stoneware...its essentially a very porcelaneous clay body. Regardless, it fires real nice in both the wood and salt kiln....and I am very grateful to have been spotted a couple bags of clay in a pinch.

My basement at the house in Indiana, Pa was the other thing that runneth over...more like, all the water that ranneth in to it. I ended up with just under a foot of water down in the basement last Thursday night. That was a lot less than some of my neighbors however. People lost their furnaces, washers, dryers...you name it...I lost my hot water heater and washing machine. Long story short we had a major storm that produced flash flooding conditions all over town. The water was high both in the basement and standing outside...my lawn mower was in water over the lower portion and up some to the motor apparently...how far I don't know exactly, but it was high enough to have drowned it so that it will not start anymore. The mower was inside my old shed out back. Insane. It was the first time in my 8 years there that I ever had water in my basement. The water penetrated my defenses(sump pumps and french drains) and just kept a coming...a neighbor told me that the water came in from all over and his pumps just could't keep up either. The firemen were out until 1 am pumping out people's basements. We lost a lot of books and magazines, some art work...but mostly a bunch of crap we just shoved in boxes and never dealt with. The kicker is the cost of the hot water heater and washer...as well as the general clean up...not too mention the back breaking work lumping all that wet shit up stairs and out to the curb. URGH...no pictures although I am happy to say its in better shape right now.

Factory Direct...

Installation art at the Mattress Factory

All that trauma and I still squeezed some time in to see some fancy shmancy art with the students from the Visual Concepts class I am teaching right now. Installation art at Pittsburgh's very own Mattress Factory, some very funny objects at The Society for Contemporary Craft, and the cherry on top was The Warhol Museum's "Factory Direct" show's annex site...6th floor of an old Pittsburgh building on the outskirts of the Strip District...installation based work by 14 established contemporary artists that were paired up with corporations around the Pittsburgh area in order to create the work exhibited. The results were interesting pieces that were cleanly shown in that awesome space as well as in the Warhol Museum.

Minus the great flood it might have been a better week. Right now I think I will let the beer poureth freely.

2 comments:

I haven't made a coffee cone (that's what we called them) in many years and only a few at that, but a friend made them regularly and I think he used to trim a ring midway on the bottem and then flat the rest of the way out to the edge. The ring would fit inside the cup opening and keep the cone from easily sliding off but was small enough to fit inside on top of most "normal" cups. Sorry - don't think I'm explaining it well. Maybe I can find it and take a photo.

Yikes - sorry about the flooding! We don't have basements here to flood, but I guess you remember that from Florida. Hope clean up isn't too icky.

Hi Barbara...the bottoms were the tricky part...I trimmed some as an inset foot with the most outer rim as a flange so that it sits on top of a cup like a jar lid....sorta...a couple other just flat but wider so that would sit like a hat with brim on a mug...I think the next ones will be what you are saying...we will see!